Engine starting mechanism



y 1943 R. M. NARDONE ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Original Filed April 8, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1943 R. M. NARDONE 2,319,469

ENGINE S TARTI NG MECHANI SM Original Filed April 8,- 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR B {ROM/180M Nam-dome.

O RNEM y 8, 1943 R. M.QNARDONE 2,319,469

ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Original Filed April 8, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet Z5 INVENTOR Rel/(e0 M. Nardb/IE.

Patented May 18, 1943 ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Romeo M. Nardone, Westwood, N. 1., minor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, South Bend, 11111., a corporation of Delaware Original application April 8, 1941, Serial No.

Divided and this application August 19, 1942, Serial No. 455,369

7 Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines, and particularly to the starting of an internal combustion engine by impairing initial rotary movement to the engine crank-shaft through the agency of a mechanical torque transmittlng starter mechanism. This application is a division of my application No. 387,540, filed April 8, 1941, now Patent No. 2,295,289, issued September 8, 1942.

An object of the invention is to provide an engine starter that can be readily adapted for rotation in a, direction opposite to that originally prevailing, thus facilitating its application to an engine other than the one originally associated therewith.

Another object is to provide novel means for moving an engine-engaging member to engineengaging position, following initial storage of energy in a driving member of the inertia type.

Another object is to provide novel means facilitating rotation of the inertia element (flywheel) in either desired direction, prior to operation of the means for moving the engine-engaging member to engine-engaging position.

Another object is to provide flywheel energizshaped teeth on an engine-engaging member 29,

ing means including a reversible electric motor having associated therewith brush lifting and reversing mechanisms of novel construction.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from inspection of the following specification when read with reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustrationonly, and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

. In the drawings,

- Fig. .1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 show the engine-engaging member and actuating means therefor, in successive stages of operation;

Fig. 5 is a view along line 5-5 of Fig 1; and

Fig. 6 is a diagram of electrical connections.

In Fig. 1 the inertia element H (flywheel) is shown as having a hub l2 keyed to the shaft 13 of the armature I4 of an electric motor whose field coils II are supported on a frame ll fastened to a transverse plate "constituting part of a sectional housing; the said plate 18 being secured between the housing sections2l and 22. A third housing section 23 supports the sections 22 and 5|, and the remainder being splined to the outer and the latter has a cylindrical extension or hub 3| mounted for rotation and limited axial movement within the housing section 23.\

Housing section 22 has an inwardly extending position with two openings-one to receive a bearing assembly 36 in which the shaft l3 rotates, and the other to receive a pair of bearing assemblies 31 and 38 in which a shaft 39 and a sleeve 49 have unitary rotation. Sleeve 40 is an extension of a bell-shaped gear 4! which meshes with a pinion 42, the latter being integrated with armature shaft IS in any suitable manner.

Shaft 39 is keyed to sleeve 40 and terminates in teeth 44 to form a pinion having meshing relationship to the internally formed teeth of an annulus gear 46 whose hub 41 has relative rotation about a hollow shaft 48 that is drivably connected to the hub of a plate 49 constituting part of a barrel 5!. Bearing assemblies 52 and 53 facilitate free rotation of barrel 5| in housing section 23.

Hub 41 of gear 46 has teeth, and. these constitute a sun gear for mesh with a plurality of planetary gears 56 that are rotatably mounted on the barrel end 49 and mesh with an internal gear 51 which is shown as integral with the housing section 23. Preferably three planetary gears 55 are employed. and one of these is shown in section in Fig.1. These gears 56 are preferably spaced 120" apart, so that as the view is taken in Fig. 1, one of the gears appears in elevation below the center line: Each of the planetary gears is rotatably mounted by means of a ball bearing 58 carried by a sleeve 59 which is held at its inner end in barrel end 49. Extending into sleeve 59 and threaded thereto is a screw 6| which supports the sleeve, bearing and planetar-y gear. If desired a retaining ring 62 for bearings 58 may be formed integral with sleeves 59.

For torque limiting purposes there is preferably employed a multiple. disk clutch" embodying a plurality of friction disks 63, a. number of said disks being splined to the inner surface of barrel surface of a shell or sleeve 84. Resilient means such as a plurality of coil springs 56 and an adjusting nut 61, which is threaded into the inner end of barrel 5|, are provided for varying The novel engine-engaging control means, heretofore referred to, will now be described in detail. A rod i passes through hollow shaft 48,

and at its outer end is threaded to receive a nut 82 which abuts the transverse apertured wall 83 of engine-engaging member 29 and thereby retains the said member 29 in assembled relationship to the rod BI which passes freely through said apertured wall 03. At its other end rod 8| is formed to receive one end of a bell-crank 86 mounted on a rock-shaft 99 journaled in bearings 8'Iand 00 (Fig. 2) of the housing section 22, and projecting through said housing section 22 to receive a second bell-crank 89 for manual operation of rod 8i. Automatic operation of rod BI, following initial acceleration of flywheel II, is provided by solenoid SI whose plunger 92 has an extension 93 which abuts the upper end of belicrank 84 and moves the latter about its pivot in response to energization of winding 9i in the manner hereinafter described. A torsion spring 9% yieldably opposes such clockwise (Fig. 1) swinging of bell-crank 84, but this clockwise swinging is nevertheless effective to move rod BI to the left. On the rod 8i there is a coiled compression spring 95 and a cup 91, the latter being normally urged against the rod collar 98 by the spring action. A detent IOI is urged in a radially outward direction by a leaf spring I02, and, because of this urging, it normally engages a tapered shoulder I03 (Figs: 1, 3 and 4) formed by the internal splines of sleeve 64, which splines coact with the external splines I05 on the hub 3| of engine-engaging member 29. This engagement of detent II" with shoulder I03 holds member 29 against any axial displacement until the axial displacement of rod 8| fully compresses spring 96-in other words, until the parts reach the relative positions shown in Fig. 3. At that moment the continued pressure to the left of rod collar 8| (urged by the solenoid plunger 92), in conjunction with the now built-up stress in spring 96, results in a snap-action movement of member 29 to the left, into the position shown in Fig. 4. Thus engine engagement is effected, and the energy previously stored in flywheel II is transmitted to the member 21 of the engine, to crank the latter.

The previous storage of energy in flywheel II may have been by manual acceleration of the flywheel (through the gear train) or by motor operation. Motor operation involves an automatic brush applying action ,by electromagnetic control means now to be described.

Brush actuating solenoid I01 has a plunger I08 connected by means of springs I09 to clevis arms III which are loosely joined to brushes H2 and H3. Operation of the solenoid causes plunger I08 to move down (as shown on the drawings) so as to extend springs I09 and pull arms III down to apply pressure on top of the brushes I I2, I I3. The act of lowering the brushes to the commutator acts as a switch so that the motor is immediately energized and accelerates flywheel II. When solenoid I0! is de-energized, the spring I I3 acts to push the plunger I08 upward, and collar II4 contacts arms I I I to rotate them about their hinge points H8 and lift the brushes off the commutator by reason of the interengagement of said arms with the slots in the brush-carriers I2I.

'- The rotation of the motor can be reversed I29 to terminal I24, at the same time joining up brush II2 to terminal I23. Bmsh H2 is shown as connected to terminal I24. This reversal involves only a simple shift of conducting anglestrip I21 from one terminal to the other.

To control the flow of current from source I3 to the motor and solenoids 9I and I07, I employ a switch having a movable element with portions IIII and I42 of insulating material, and portions I43 and I6 3 of conducting material; also stationary fingers I46, I47, I48, and I69. A handle I50 enables the operator to close, first, the switch I46, I63, I41 to energize the solenoid I91 and thus apply the brushes to the motor. This allows current to flow through both the vfield coils IE and .armature I I of the motor, in series, and the flywheel II is thus energized at high speed.

When sumclent energy has thus been stored, the operator pushes handle I50 further to the left, thus adding to the original circuit a second circuit passing to the solenoidEI by way of contacts I48, I44, and I 49. The member 29 is thereupon snapped into engine-engaging position (as heretofore explained) and the engine cranked.

When the engine starts, the operator returns switch I50 to the dead position. (Fig. 6), and springs H3 and 94 now come into efiect: spring H3, to lift the brushes from the commutator (Fig. 6); and spring 94, tov restore rod BI to its normal (Fig. 1) position, andalong with it ment of said engine-engaging member, and means for compressing said resilient means suflicientiy to cause saidresilient means to impart engineengaging movement to said engine-engaging member.

2. In an inertia starter, the combination with a flywheel and engine-engaging member, of means for accelerating said flywheel to relative-' 1y high speed, said means further operating to rotate said engine-engaging member; at relatively low speed, means rotating with 'said engineengaging member for yieldably restraining axial movement of said engine-engaging member during such rotation, compressible resilient means for producing axial (engine-engagin movement of said engine-engaging member, and means for compressing said resilient means sufliciently to cause said resilient means to impart engineengaging movement to said engine-engaging member, said last-named means including a cupshaped element enveloping said resilient means,

merely by shifting the live lead I22 from terminal and acting upon said engine-engaging member to releaseit from the restraint of said restraining means in response to the energization of said compressing means.

3. In an inertia starter, the combination with a flywheel and engine-engaging member, of means ing member for yieldably restraining axial movement of said engine-engaging member during such rotation, compressible resilient means for producing axial (engine-engaging) movement of said engine-engaging member, and means for compressing said resilient means sufliciently to cause said resilient means to impart engine-engaging movement to said engine-engaging member, said last-named means including a cupengaging member for yieldably restraining axial movement of said engine-engaging member during such rotation, compressible resilient means for producing axial (engine-engaging) movement of said engine-engaging member, and means for compressing said resilient means sufliciently to cause said resilient means to impart engineengaging movement to said engine-engaging member, said last-named means including a cupshaped element enveloping said resilient means,

and acting upon said engine-engaging member to release it from the restraint of said restraining means in response to the energization of said compressing means, and means for energizing said compressing means, said energizing means including an electromagnetic device interposed between said flywheel and engine-engaging member, a source of current, and electric connections extending from said source of current to said electromagnetic device.

5. In an inertia starter, the combination with a flywheel and engine-engaging member, of means for accelerating said flywheel to relatively high speed, said means further operating to rotate said engineeengaging member at relatively low speed, means rotating with saidengineengaging member for yieldably restraining axial movement of said engine-engaging member during such rotation, compressible resilient means for producing axial (engine-engaging) movement of said engine-engaging member, and means for compressing said resilient means sufliciently to cause said resilient means to impart engine-engaging movement to said engine-engaging member, said last-named means including a cupshaped element enveloping said resilient means. and acting upon said engine-engaging member to release it from therestraint oi. said restraining means in response to the energization of said compressing means, and means for energizing said compressing means, said energizing means including an electromagnetic device interposed between said flywheel and engine-engaging mema flywheel and engine-engaging member, of

means for accelerating said flywheel to relatively high speed, said means further operating to rotate said engine-engaging member at relatively low speed, and means for causing movement of said engine-engaging member to engine-engaging position, said last-named means including an electromagnetic device interposed between said flywheel and engine-engaging member, a source of current, and electric connections extending from said source of current to said electromagnetic device, said electric connections including a switch having two operative positions, and commutator brush-engaging means in circuit with said switch when the latter is in one of said operative positions, said brush-engaging means being cooperative with said switch to maintain current flow from said source to said accelerating means continuously during energization of said electromagnetic device.

'7. In an inertia starter, the combination with a flywheel and engine-engaging member, of means for accelerating said flywheel to relatively high speed, said means further operating to rotate said engine-engaging member at relatively low speed, means for causing movement of said engine-engaging member to engine-engaging po- 

